IP Library Granted Patent US 11,752,589
Granted Patent B2
US 11,752,589 · App. 16/849,863 · Granted Sep 12, 2023

Chemical mechanical polishing temperature scanning apparatus for temperature control

Inventors: Hari Soundararajan (Sunnyvale, CA); Shou-Sung Chang (Mountain View, CA); Haosheng Wu (San Jose, CA); Jianshe Tang (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
B24B37/015B24B37/105B24B37/22B24B37/34B24B55/02B24B37/042B24B49/14B24B53/017
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,752,589
App. No.
16/849,863
Granted
Sep 12, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a platen having a top surface to hold a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad during a polishing process, and a temperature monitoring system. The temperature monitoring system includes a non-contact thermal sensor positioned above the platen that has a field of view of a portion of the polishing pad on the platen. The sensor is rotatable by the motor around an axis of rotation so as to move the field of view across the polishing pad.

Claims (28)

1. A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising:

a platen having a top surface to hold a polishing pad;

a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad during a polishing process;

a temperature monitoring system including a non-contact thermal sensor positioned above the platen to have a field of view of a portion of the polishing pad on the platen, the thermal sensor rotatable by a motor about an axis of rotation parallel to the polishing surface so as to move the field of view across the polishing pad.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a rotatable sensor support coupled to the motor such that rotation of the support by the motor rotates the sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sensor support comprises an arm extending over the polishing pad.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the thermal sensor is movable along the support.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sensor support is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the sensor support.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the temperature monitoring system is configured to measure a temperature of the portion of the polishing pad.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a controller coupled to the motor and the temperature monitoring system and configured to control the motor so as to cause the thermal sensor to make measurements at a plurality of positions on the polishing pad.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a temperature profile of the polishing pad based on measurements at the plurality of positions on the polishing pad.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a heater and/or cooler, and wherein the controller is configure to adjust operation of the heater and/or cooler based on the temperature profile so as to improve temperature uniformity of the polishing pad.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the temperature profile is a radial profile.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the temperature profile is an angular profile about an axis of rotation of the platen.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the temperature profile is a 2D profile.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermal sensor is positioned centered on an axis of rotation of the platen.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the axis of rotation of the thermal sensor is parallel to the axis of rotation of the platen.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the axis of rotation of the thermal sensor is parallel to the polishing surface.

16. A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising:

a platen having a top surface to hold a polishing pad;

a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad during a polishing process;

a temperature monitoring system including a non-contact thermal sensor positioned above the platen to have a field of view of a portion of the polishing pad on the platen, the thermal sensor rotatable by a motor about an axis of rotation so as to move the field of view across the polishing pad; and

a rotatable sensor support coupled to the motor such that rotation of the support by the motor rotates the sensor, wherein the thermal sensor is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the support.

17. A method of monitoring a temperature of a polishing pad in a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:

rotating a thermal sensor about an axis of rotation such that a field of view of the thermal sensor sweeps across a polishing surface of a chemical mechanical polishing pad while the thermal sensor remains laterally stationary; and

as the field of view sweeps across the polishing pad, making a plurality of measurements with the thermal sensor to generate a temperature profile.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the axis of rotation is parallel to the polishing surface.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the polishing surface.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 24, 2020
From: SOUNDARARAJAN, HARI; CHANG, SHOU-SUNG; WU, HAOSHENG; TANG, JIANSHE
To: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Reel/Frame 053574/0105 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62835990 · Apr 18, 2019
Related Publication 20200331113A1 · Oct 22, 2020
Cited By (1)
US 12,678,912